Chapter 76. The Last of the Magic

Lotus’s POV

The silence after Alister’s scream is worse than the battle.

The world should feel lighter now. The monster is gone, and the curse is broken, but it doesn’t. The magic in me doesn’t fade. It burns hotter and wilder. It wants more.

It wants everything.

The courtyard is a ruin of frost and shattered stone. The air hums with the aftermath of power, still vibrating under my skin. My breath fogs white, too fast and too shallow. I can’t pull the magic back in. It’s spilling out, unstoppable, like the world’s pulse has synced with mine.

“Lotus!”

Lennox’s voice is desperate, but it barely cuts through the storm.

But it’s another voice that drags my eyes down.

Louis.

He’s lying in the snow, his armor blackened, and his blood is freezing around him. Levi kneels beside him, trying to staunch the wound that just keeps bleeding.

No.

“No!” I stumble forward, the light burning at my fingertips. The moment my hands